Office of Student Success Receives Grant for Billy Chat Study

CalPoly Pomona

Cal Poly Pomona’s artificial intelligence text-messaging robot, Billy Chat, will be part of a study that explores student engagement with chatbots.

The Office of Student Success, Equity and Innovation (OSSEI) is partnering on the research project titled Student Engagement with and Experiences of Chatbot Communication. Led by Brown University and funded by the College Futures Foundation, the study will examine the implementation of student outreach chatbots on the CPP and CSU East Bay campuses and explore how the bot has engaged students in their academic careers. The study will also look at how bots can cultivate a sense of belonging in the campus community.

To carry out the study at CPP, researchers will conduct interviews and focus groups with faculty and staff and embark on an analysis of campaigns CPP has sent during the 2022-23 academic year. The research team includes Lindsay Page from Brown University, Sebastian Munoz-Najar Galvez from Harvard University, and Mitchell Stevens from Stanford University. Cecilia Santiago-González and Terri Gomez serve as the grant’s Co-PIs at CPP.

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